Charlie Puth says Taylor Swift pushed him to release new single, “Hero”

In April Taylor Swift declared Charlie Puth should be a bigger artist. Now, it seems like he’s up to the task.

The singer has released “Hero,” the first single off his upcoming fourth studio album. He told Rolling Stone that if it wasn’t for Taylor’s push, he probably wouldn’t have released the new track.

“I’d say if it weren’t for Taylor and her mentioning me, I probably wouldn’t have had the courage to put this out, which is a big statement. I know,” Charlie said.

The self-produced song, which he first teased on social media, arrived Friday via Atlantic Records. Charlie says he hasn’t spoken to Taylor about the shout-out on The Tortured Poets Department‘s title track yet, but that he did write her a note about it.

“I was just like, ‘This means more, and I will take this newfound courage to put this new body of work out,'” Charlie said. “I was working on it already, but I was just unsure and it’s cool to get a stamp of approval from an artist that you have idolized for such a long time and still do.”

So, does Charlie Puth also think Charlie Puth should be a bigger artist?

“I think I should be,” Charlie said. “But to me, [if I’m] a bigger artist, I get to inspire more of my fans and people around the world to pick up an instrument. I’d love to be a bigger artist to inspire other people to be bigger artists.”